THE FALL OF MALTA’S AZURE WINDOW

The fall of Malta’s Azure Window.

The famous and iconic Azure Window of Malta was destroyed on Wednesday march 8 by Gale force winds and huge waves smashing on it.

The Azure Window also known as the Dwejra Window was was a 28-metre-tall (92 ft) coastal rock formation on the Maltese island of Gozo.

It was located in Dwejra Bayand and was one of Malta’s major tourist attractions.

Azure Window was a site for tourists

The Azure Window, believed to have formed naturally in the mid-19th century was created by the collapse of two sea caves. It consisted of a pillar of rock rising from the sea and joined to the cliff by a horizontal slab.

Sadly, following decades of natural erosion that caused parts of the arch to fall into the sea, the entire structure, including the pillar collapsed completely in stormy weather at around 08:40 UTC on 8 March 2017 leaving nothing visible above the water.

It seemed to have endured the raging seas over time but finally gave in to the storms that hit Malta and Gozo in recent days and it was swept away.

Fortunately, no one was injured as the rock formation came crashing down into the sea as Geologists had long warned that it could give way at any time.

Malta’s Prime minister Joseph Muscat tweeted: “Reports commissioned over the years indicated that this landmark would be hard hit by unavoidable natural corrosion. That sad day arrived.”

People watched and took pictures as waves break on the shore next to Fungus Rock close to where the structure known as the Azure Window collapsed.

People watching and taking pictures of what use to be the Azure Window.credits: Darrin Zammit Lupi/Reuters

“There was a big raging sea beneath the window.” A local resident told times of Malta. “Suddenly, the arch collapsed into the sea with a loud whoomph, throwing up a huge spray. By the time the spray had faded, the stack had gone too,” he added.

Malta’s Environment and Resources Authority called the collapse a major loss to Malta’s natural heritage.

The Azure Window had featured in a number of films. Among them was Clash of the Titans produced in1981 and season one of popular HBO’s TV series Game of Thrones where It was used as a filming location for the Dothraki wedding scene.